The World Steel Association (worldsteel) says that global crude steel output from its 64 reporting countries dipped year-on-year in April 2020 to 137.1 million tonnes, down by - 13.0% y-o-y.

Although some figures could be revised, these preliminary calculation indicates that the deceleration in output increased in April. During March the fall was -6% y-o-y and global output surpassed 147mt. Going forward Kallanish notes that May should be the month in which this falling trend should start to see a change, with levels close to normality only expected for June onwards as further lockdowns measures are eased.

“Due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, many of April’s figures are estimates from national and regional associations, which may be revised with next month's production update,” the association says.